'The Hit List is a roller-coaster ride from the outrageous beginning to the startling end. Jamie Chadwick is the unlikely protagonist - I hesitate to call him a hero, although in some ways he could be said to be one - a much put-upon young man who cares for his arthritic and difficult dad whilst trying to run a business from home and juggling his tortuous love-life. Jamie decides that the way out of his difficulties is to kill the old boy, but as problem after problem surfaces in the guise of friends past, present and future in the Suffolk village where he lives, the hit list just keeps on growing. Anne Brooke has created a sometimes shocking mixture of humour, mystery, sex and downright farce as the hapless Jamie lurches from one encounter to the next, leaving the reader with no option but to turn the page, wondering not only if he's serious in his deadly intentions but how on earth it can all end. A jolly good read.' (A 4-star review posted on www.amazon.co.uk, 2004.) 'Jamie Chadwick is stuck in the country, struggling to run his own business, and care for his aged father. He thinks he has the answer – a hit list of all the people who annoy him. He fantasises about killing them off, one by one. His already messy life is thrown into further disarray when two people from his past return, causing him to face up to the secrets he cannot even admit to himself. In this witty, moving and sometimes chilling novel, Anne Brooke cleverly explores the claustrophobia that can come with country living, and the extreme attempts one might take to escape it. Written in clear, flowing prose, Ms Brooke expertly creates a world that is both real and surreal, funny and dramatic. The characters are well-realised. Jamie Chadwick epitomises the frustration that young men feel when their world is closing in around them, struggling to do the right thing, and tempted to do the wrong thing. In his father, Mr Chadwick, Ms Brooke creates a realistic portrait of an elderly parent, ungrateful, dismissive and emotionally blackmailing his son at every turn. In between them are the young people who inhabit Jamie’s life. Nick, his surly office assistant; Carina, the pretty vicar’s daughter, whom Jamie lusts after; Lucy, his father’s nurse, who begins to tempt Jamie away from Carina, and David and Robert, the old friends who are the catalysts for all the troubles that face Jamie as he struggles to maintain control over his own life. My only negative comments about the novel are about Jamie. It is sometimes difficult to feel sympathy for someone who, albeit wittily, plots to kill anyone who annoys him, however slightly. I sometimes felt he should lighten up a little, but as the story progresses, it becomes chillingly clear that he can’t. Jamie is a compelling character, especially as the reader comes to realise that his fantasies are becoming dangerously real, and one is left with the (hopeful) feeling that his story has not ended in this novel. In Jamie we have an anti-hero who is as attractive as Patricia Highsmith’s Mr Ripley.' (A 3 Palm Tree review posted on Review Island, 2004.)
'What a wonderful romp this is through the rather complex life of Jamie Chadwick. I was hooked from the start. I read this book at a time when I could have easily been distracted by a mound of professional and personal demands. I did not want to put it down. Anne Brooke has scored well on three counts: (a) She has created a plot which cracks along and which is utterly believable. (b) She has created characters who are rounded and with whom the reader can empathize. (c) She has written tightly, with superb dialogue and description. There is not a single wasted word. There are moments of great hilarity and intense sadness. We laugh with Jamie and also share with him some of those sobering moments in life which we all encounter. A really superb read.' (A 5-star review posted on www.amazon.co.uk, 2004.)
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